A Rainbow in the Clouds
by A.R.R. Pirate
Summary: Naruto is back from his training mission, but something is different about him. And it's not just the obvious effects of puberty either! Follow our resident genius Shikamaru, as he uses his wits to find out the truth behind the changes.


**A/N: Welcome to my new story! I am very excited for how this plot will play out, and I already have the first several chapters planned out. Please** **R & R! Disclaimer: Naruto and its character's are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. Any similarity to other stories is unintentional. I make no money from this.**

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 **Shikamaru POV**

A single rain drop fell from the sky and landed on his nose, waking him. This was followed shortly by another, that landed on his forehead. He frowned and opened his eyes, looking up at the quickly, graying clouds. Troublesome, he thought. Then when he didn't feel any more patters of rain- closed his eyes once more, only to be drenched by a sudden torrential down pour. He sat up with an irritated sigh and then picked himself up off the spongy and now damp grass, moving with more speed than his usual meandering pace, his clothing quickly soaking through. He headed towards the main street to cut through the center of Konoha.

As he was walking through the heart of the city towards the estate, he noticed many vendors closing their shops, many people ducking to take cover from the rain. He nodded at a couple of shop owners who waved at him as he passed, not bothering to wave back, as his hands were already shoved deeply into his pockets. At the same time he side stepped a large puddle forming in the middle of the road, only doing so because he did not want his mother to lecture him for getting mud all over his shoes.

By the time he neared the fence of the clan property, the sky had let up just enough to count as a light drizzle. Following the main path to the house, he made a small effort to squeeze some of the water out of his clothes. He yelled out his return as he entered but found out that his mother and father were not home, both most likely still at work or in meetings. He gently toed off his shoes by the front door to avoid tracking the dirt through the house, and then made his was down the hallway towards his room.

Quickly entering the bathroom, he turned on the shower to hot to warm up. He allowed the steam and heat to help him decompress, rolling back his shoulders and popping his neck. Shikamaru let out a sigh.

He was only slightly bothered that on his day off it had to rain, ruining his plans to cloud watch and relax. Turning off the water he toweled off, wringing the excess out of his hair. Instead of putting it up in his usual holder- opting to leave it down brushing his shoulders.

He reclined onto his bed still mulling over the issue that had been bothering him for the last couple of days. Now, Shikamaru wasn't one to brag, but he definitely had a higher IQ than most. For him to be thinking and trying to sort something out for any lengthy period of time, was rather unusual. He pressed his fingertips to each other- forming what his Sensei, Asuma, dubbed his thinking pose. Naruto. In some way it was always Naruto.

Naruto had returned from a second training mission with Jiraiya almost a week ago, and though in any ways Naruto was the same, there was something that was different. Besides the obvious. Naruto came back with that same tan and hair now a little bit longer, brushing the jaw, just as golden and angelic. Ocean blue eyes held some wisdom, now having seen some parts of the world. Not only that, but gone was that baby fat physique Naruto once had, instead now bearing a more leaned out frame with sinewy muscle definition.

None of this seemed to be an issue, except to the young Nara heir who also noticed that bedsides the muscle definition there was a subtle hint of curves under that monstrous orange jumpsuit Naruto called clothing. Naruto came back looking, in a way, more feminine. Except Naruto was a male wasn't he? None of the adults including his parents ever mentioned him as anything otherwise, nor did they indicate it. Neither did Naruto's team, who knew the orphan better than pretty much anyone. And Naruto himself never made comment about his gender being wrongly labeled. On top of that none of them had seen Naruto in anything other than the jumpsuit, every invite to the lake, or to the hot springs, were innocently brushed aside.

His brow furrowed in thought. Was it truly innocent misdirection, though? Or was Naruto purposefully avoiding situations of undress because he thought people would find out that he was actually, a she? Troublesome, he thought. And not for the first time today, either.

Shikamaru was never one to put in more effort than was needed. He was a meet expectations type guy, never really going above and beyond. This problem though, was going to bother him until he had an answer. He figured he could invite Naruto to come stay over, but then again Shikamaru never invited people to do things. He, was invited. And then usually had to be dragged there forcibly. He sighed again, his own laziness was actually biting him in the ass for once.

A knock on the door broke him from the train of thoughts. His mother peeked her head in to let him know that she was home and his father would be arriving soon. Apparently he had been delayed at the Hokage's office. Probably for his benefit, seeing as the weather had picked up again. His mom let him know that she was going to start on dinner and to be ready to come join them, she then excused herself gently closing the door behind herself. The rain beat against the window of Shikamaru's room.

He sat up trying to tear his mind away from the issue, though it nagged the back of his mind. He stood up popping his back. He groaned a little with his stretch recognizing that the tension in his neck and shoulders was back. Kneading the juncture, he walked across his room to the dresser to pull out a longer sleeved shirt. After pulling it on over his head he grabbed his chuunin vest off the floor and hung it up so it would be ready for tomorrow.

A thump on the roof indicated the arrival his father, he stepped into the hallway just as his father came in the entry dripping wet. His mother bustled past him with a towel. Helping Shikaku dry off, she then ushered him into their room to change into dry clothing before dinner. She turned back around to Shikamaru.

"Come now, food's on the table. Let us enjoy it while its hot." Yoshino said. She walked passed Shikamaru to the dining room and sat herself at the low table. Shikamaru followed right behind her sitting opposite of her. His father entered just after and took his place at the head of the table.

Shikamaru placed his hands together and gave thanks for his meal. Fresh veggies and fruits from the Aburame, and grains and meats from the Akimichi Clan were cooked to perfection by his mother. His mother and father chatted lightly about their days at work while Shikamaru mostly listened.

"Today I saw to our group of pregnant deer in the forest, I'd say in a week or so we'll have another couple baby fawns to look after." Yoshino took great pride in dealing with the deer, as well as the smaller clan issues. As the mother of the clan she dealt with the more domestic problems. Since she did not take as many missions, she was glad for the full schedule.

"That's good. I'm sure this will be a great time for Shikamaru to learn to help with a birth. Speaking of birth, did you know that Rina and her husband are expecting another?" Shikaku took a sip of his miso soup humming at the pleasant taste. Shikamaru took this as his queue to pitch in his thoughts.

"What are your thoughts on the godaime hokage?" He knew that if he didn't contribute his mother would nag.

"Tsunade-sama? Aside from her impressive medical knowledge she has a rather impressive intellectual mind suited for leading. She definitely has earned the title of sage, and will continue to make a great leader, despite being a woman." The last part of his statement earned a sharp glance from Yoshino.

"What do you mean despite being a woman!?" There it is, Shikamaru thought, his mother's sharp tongue. At least it wasn't directed at him. He closed his eyes and pondered the possibility of escaping.

"All I meant is that she should never be under estimated just for her sex. She would be a fearsome opponent." Shikaku explained in a factual and non-defensive manner. Somewhat placated, Yoshino sighed.

"I only hope I can look that good when I get to be her age." Yoshino smiled at her husband, obviously fishing for the complement.

"You will, my dear." Shikaku said. If not, only to avoid her wrath.

"Why, how old is she?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru! I thought I raised you better than to enquire a woman's age!"

"Troublesome." He rolled his eyes.

"She could be your grandmother." His father said plainly. Shikamaru just nodded, taking in the new information and didn't let the surprise show on his face. "Help me clean up, and then join me for a game of shogi, Shika?"

Shikamaru acquiesced, rising to his feet and helping clear the table of dishes. He kissed his mom as she started doing the dishes, and left to follow his father into the drawing room. He sat down on the floor by the board as his father opened up the door to allow the smell and sound of rain to filter in.

They played in silence for a few minutes. Allowing themselves to both, strategize, and just to enjoy the quiet pattering of the rain outside. The pieces on the shogi board softy clacked as the moved them around. They could hear Yoshino humming softly as she finished cleaning the dishes and started on the minor housework.

"So what is on your mind, something troublesome I'd assume?" His father asked.

"Isn't is always?"

"True." Shikaku moved his piece on the board and sighed.

"It's actually about Naruto." Shikamaru said placing his counter.

"Oh? What about Naruto?' Shikaku asked. He stared at the board thinking for about five or so minutes before placing his next piece.

"Well ever since he's come back, he's been different." Shikamaru quickly moved another piece.

"I'm assuming you aren't referring to the obvious effects of puberty." Shikaku too made a move on the board.

"Yes, and no actually." Now it was Shikamaru's turn to think. He allowed himself to sit in his thinking pose, after which he made his move. "Is there a possibility that Naruto might be a girl?" he asked his father.

Shikaku sat there for a few moments either pondering his move, or the question asked, Shikamaru wasn't sure.

"Checkmate." Shikaku captured his king. "I think that anything is possible, especially where that Naruto kid is concerned. If you really want to know, you already have the tools to find out." He started cleaning up the pieces off of the board and stowed it away. He rolled his shoulders back and his back let out a loud crunch.

"I'm assuming you aren't referring to intellect?" He smirked, rephrasing his father's earlier wording.

"Yes, and no actually." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his father's humor. "What have you been training for since you were a kid?"

Shikamaru closed the screen door and walked towards the hallway, only to turn to his father and say, "To be a ninja."

His father smiled. "Oh, and Shikamaru- why did you make that last move if you knew I was going to checkmate you?" He knew the answer, but he asked it anyway.

Shikamaru responded, "In every single combination of the 216 I considered, I lost in no more than two moves. I just ended the inevitable." He left the drawing room to retire for the evening.

Walking down the hall towards his room, he closed the door behind himself with a snap. Not even two minutes later he heard his father and mother talking softly down the hall and then their conversation was muffled by the closing of door, he assumed the one to their room. He sighed. It had been a long day, and all of the events weighed on his mind. He sat on his bad and thought about what his dad had said. He would figure out the truth the only way he knew how. He would sit and he would strategize.

He meditated for an hour or so before his eyes snapped open. He knew what he would do. Everything just needed to fall into place. He laid down to finally get some rest, but he knew that his mind wouldn't turn off easily. It was many minutes before his breath finally evened out and he fell into a deep sleep.

 **Naruto POV**

Naruto stretched his arms up over his head, the very orange jumpsuit riding up, showing off a small sliver of his tan stomach. He smiled brightly as he walked through the village. After being away for so long, even the damp weather couldn't bring him down. He turned is face to the sky as he walked up the large staircase towards the hokage monument. Training with pervy sage, and the very few moments of rest, made Naruto appreciate the view of Konoha even more once he reached the top. He sat on the heads and looked down. Someday his face would be carved on this mountain. Everyone would respect him.

He smiled as he thought of all the things he had accomplished while away. He was glad he now had more people to protect. It's what has fueled him since the very beginning. He looked up to the sky and despite the now pouring rain, he found a rainbow.

A large crack of lightning followed shortly by a thunder had Naruto getting to his feet and starting his journey towards his apartment. No, while not much had changed while he had been gone, and Konoha remained much the same, many of the people had grown. Sakura too had grown, now possessing unbelievable strength after her training with Tsunade. He was incredibly proud of her since she was well on her way to achieving her goals.

He jumped up onto the roof top preferring to take the long way to his house. Feet lightly coated in chakra kept him from slipping on slick roof shingles and with each leap he felt more and more glad to be home. He dropped down off the roof as he approached the street with his apartment on it. Another thing that hadn't changed. Sakura and Kakashi had made sure his apartment hadn't fallen to shambles while he had been gone. He pulled the key from under the mat and entered walking through the house with his shoes still on leaving a dozen or so little pools of water and mud on the floor.

Turning on the shower Naruto hopped into the stream of warm water, only really taking the time to take care of his hair, something Jiraiya taught him through his obvious personal experience. Now that it brushed his shoulders he found himself becoming more and more annoyed by it. He debating taking the kunai off his counter and chopping it off again, but then Sakura would probably pummel him for ruining what she called "hair so pretty it's unfair".

He turned off the water and jumped out, slipping slightly on the now wet floor. Toweling off his hair he walked to his dresser and pulled out some clean clothes. One of Kakashi's over-sized shirts, and a pair of Sasuke's old shorts that now were a smidgen too small to be considered anything but underwear. He threw his towel on the floor not really looking at where it landed. Walking into the living room he took five seconds to pick up the only the necessary surfaces of the apartment, mainly being the couch and the table- throwing out the garbage into the small trash can. He then walked over to the fridge. Empty. As expected.

Naruto sighed and debated putting on his jumpsuit again, just to go to Ichiraku's, but decided against it. Another thing that hadn't changed while Naruto was away. His love for ramen. He definitely could say that none of the ramen he had tried on his journey, had been as good as Teuchi and Ayame's. He pulled his kettle from the cabinet, filled it with water and started boiling it on the stove. He pulled out a ramen cup from the cupboard and sighed. The kettle whistled when the water was ready and he filled the cup to the line waiting for it to be done, and ready to eat.

No timer needed to tell him when it was ready Naruto dug in with gusto, excited to eat. Naruto no longer ate as much as before. Well, at least not as much that often. In an effort to save for a better apartment Naruto had been taking the steps to cut costs where he could. And that meant occasionally eating less ramen. On the bright side gama-chan, his cute frog wallet, was becoming very fat and happy.

Draining the last of the contents of the ramen cup Naruto threw the trash in the bag and tied it up. He placed it by the door so he would actually remember to take it out tomorrow morning. Then, he rinsed his chopsticks in the sink and wiped his hands dry on the bottom of his shirt. Retiring to his room, he turned out the lights in the hallway as he entered. Naruto pulled on his froggie night cap, causing his hair to flip outwards cutely on the ends. With a sigh he flopped onto his futon. No need for blankets because of the warm apartment, Naruto fell asleep thinking of rainbows.


End file.
